Scottish Lib Dems respond to announcement of review of law officers

Scottish Liberal Democrats have today said that reform of Scotland’s law officers is long overdue, and that any review should also address the need for a complete overhaul of the system of fatal accident inquiries.

The government has announced a review on the future functions and responsibilities of the Scottish law officers.

It will examine matters including the dual role of the Lord Advocate, whose responsibilities presently include being both the independent head of the prosecution service and chief legal adviser to the Scottish Government.

The review is due to begin its work in the new year, with a final report scheduled for the latter part of 2027.

Speaking in parliament, Scottish Liberal Democrat Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP said:

“In 2021, this government did recognise the urgent need for reform of Scotland’s law officers. We don’t need another review to tell us that.

“The solutions are staring us in the face. There is an inherent conflict of interest in the Lord Advocate’s current dual role. That’s why Liberal Democrats have long called for an independent director of public prosecutions.

“We also need a separate function and a complete overhaul of the system of fatal accident inquiries because right now there are hundreds of families waiting for answers as to what happened to their loved ones due to the backlog.

“The First Minister was largely silent on solutions like this in his statement but can I ask him, as he makes representations to the inquiry, will he lend support to solutions proposed by the Liberal Democrats?”

Scottish Liberal Democrat justice spokesperson Yi-pei Chou Turvey MSP added:

“It is right that the Scottish Government is listening to my party’s calls to properly scrutinize the dual role of the Lord Advocate, but it has dragged its heels.

“It is also disappointing that the government has failed to say anything about reform of the broken fatal accident inquiry system. Far too many families are waiting excruciatingly long for answers.

“Scottish Liberal Democrats have long called for these inquiries to be removed from the remit of the Crown Office and handed to a new body charged with ensuring they begin within a year. Ministers must listen to these plans if they are serious about true reform."